Non Caelum
by Bleu Tsuki
Summary: "You must change your disposition, not your sky." - Seneca. The ME system is more prevalent than anyone realized. Hei and Misaki are in need of a little excitement and a new chase seems to be just what they need. Add MI-6, Section 3, Havoc, and a music festival- And what's this with Yin's new boyfriend?
1. Letting the Stars Fall

**A/N- Hello! I'm returning, if very sporadically, to the wonderful fandom of Darker Than Black! I'm busy with schoolwork and an orchestra audition, but hopefully I'll be able to upload more...that is, if you like it!**

**So...Here it is!**

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**Animum Debes Mutare, Non Caelum**

_"You must change your disposition, not the sky" -Seneca_

**Chapter 1: Letting the Stars Fall**

He felt the stars fall. Streaks of white light descending into the black, leaving behind a void just as large and just as prominent. He could feel the light behind his lids, in the blue irises of his eyes, and the blast of nothingness as the star struck wherever it was that it was fated to strike: heaven or hell?

Limbo? Perhaps there wasn't a choice.

Rain hit the window panes, a steady rhythm of tap! tap! tap! and he raised his head to tilt marginally to his right. Through the bleary glass, the wall of Hell's Gate was clearly visible- how could it not be?- and Hei released a slow breath through his teeth. His life was falling apart, quite frankly, and he wasn't sure how much longer _this_, whatever this was, could stay together.

His persona of Li? Fringing at the seams. Misaki Kirihara had finally discovered a thing or two, and now popped up whenever and wherever he was going. Having lunch? She was there. Buying vegetables? She was there. And just straight walking to the park, well, her flashy blue Porsche was never that far away.

His job at the Syndicate? Huang had moved away, had voluntarily erased his memories to run off with some other Syndicate castoff. Her name was Shihoko if Hei remembered correctly. Mao had been transferred to Russia for some budding branch called Section 3, and Yin...well, Yin had a malfunction back at programming. Apparently they had tried to reboot her system, but she had developed so much of a _soul_ that she simply couldn't take it. Her body had rejected the computer data and she was now in a state of shock. Sometimes flitting between her original doll-like state to that of a normal, albeit apathetic, teenage girl.

And finally? Pai. It had kept him going- the dream of it all- but now? What was there anymore? What Syndicate did he work for? He hadn't been contacted since- well since last June when everyone had left, and who was supposed to contact him anyway? As far as he knew, the Syndicate had simply dropped him off the chess board. Accidently?- he doubted it. The thing was, what did he have to live for anymore?

He had figured out most of what happened at Heaven's Gate: Pai, Amber, and Havoc had raced to the center of the Gate, Havoc had dropped off a bit sooner due to unwelcome company, and then the two girls somehow blasted the entire area off of chartable existence. Not as detailed as he had originally hoped, but that's as much info as Mao had hacked into before getting zapped by a foreign agency. And really, what was one detail more or less?

Everything was gone.

Tap! Tap! Tap! He wondered absently if Yin had made it to the stand safely. Or if Huang was finally happy. If Mao still remembered him, if the Syndicate still remembered him, and if Misaki finally knew him. Tap! Tap! Tap!

.oOo.

Headlights swerved in front of the apartment complex, wheels rolling firmly to a stop. Misaki Kirikara hadn't meant to drive here really, but apparently she had, somewhere deep inside. She groaned and shut the engine off, watching as the rain pelted her windshield incessantly. She knew she had an unhealthy fascination for the exchange student known as Li Shengshun, but she also knew that she led an unbearably boring life. Work. Paper work.

For some odd reason, contractor activity in Tokyo had dwindled from the top ten to next to zero over the course of a year. There was no explaining it. But the point was, Misaki rarely had a chance out of the office. Long gone were the days of chasing down BK-201 and the various contractors that plagued Japan's underworld. Now, all there was to live for was work. Boring, civilian work, along the lines of robberies. Nowhere near as exciting or as involved when contractors had lit up the Tokyo sky. And so, consequently, Misaki found herself wandering the busy city, happening to wander across Li from time to time. Which was odd, since school was still in session, but she thought nothing of it. Universities had flexible enough schedules, right?

_Sometimes_ she would catch sight of that pretty silver haired girl that _sometimes_ hung around Li. Not that she was looking or caring... but she was curious. European sister? Chinese brother?

Misaki really had no hope. Obviously they were together, with a pet cat she did recall, and possibly that gruff looking man she assumed to be the girl's father. Curious, too, how she couldn't remember the last time she had seen them all together. She stared back at the apartment building, then back at the steering wheel.

Oh, forget it.

She pushed the key in the ignition and roared away.

.oOo.

The next morning, Misaki dragged herself back to work with a frown marring her face. More paper work- did the stacks never end? What happened to the days of chasing BK-201 from rooftop to rooftop? Or of catching doll traffickers and smugglers? She groaned and reorganized some folders, even as her thoughts returned to BK-201. The last time she had seen him was, goodness, at Alice Wang's party, where his sudden heroics managed to save both her and Saitou. Ever since, she couldn't even think of him as a heartless contractor anymore, he was just...well, he _must_ have felt something! What possible logical reason would there be to spare the chief of police?

A knock at the door broke her reverie, and she started as none other than MI-6's top field agent strode into the room and folded up his sunglasses.

"Hello, Misaki!" he said cheerfully, stowing his shades in his pocket.

"November? W-what are you doing here?" She peaked behind him, wondering if his entire team had come visiting, but it was just him and his dapper white suit. MI-6 had pulled out all their agents from Tokyo once it proved to be a contractor dead zone, which meant that Misaki hadn't seen or heard word of November, April, or July since last year. Why he suddenly showed up now was beyond her. Surely he wasn't interested in her new 'desk job.'

November gave his usual charming smile and went to stand in front of her, hands clasped behind his back.

"April and July will be up shortly, I believe. But you mean to say that you don't know?"

Misaki froze. "Know? Know what?" she asked, brown eyes widening behind her thin frames.

"Oh." November frowned and tilted his head thoughtfully. "There's a star on the move. They're calling it the Wanderer...I would have thought your Astronomics would have picked it up by now. MI-6 has been tracking it for a few months now."

"Astro- you mean-!" Misaki blinked in realization. "There's an active star in Tokyo!" she screamed. That meant...that meant-! There was hope?

November nodded. "GN-198. It's a relatively old star, but has recently become active. No one knows why, and for that contractor to come here to Tokyo, where activity has practically been null? Let's just say MI-6's interest was definitely piqued."

"So there's no other intel on this contractor?" Misaki clarified excitedly. "You don't know who it is or who they work for."

"Correct. It's a liability." He stared down at her fondly with his ice blue eyes, before glancing quickly at the calendar hanging over her desk. "Ah! I knew I was right!"

Misaki caught his gaze and threw her arms out to cover it.

"Hey, don't-!"

"Your birthday is this weekend!" November exclaimed, pointing to the clearly marked September 28th, circled in red highlighter.

"Don't you have a meeting to go to?" Misaki growled halfheartedly, regretting her decision to let Saitou in charge of the schedule. "Hourai doesn't like to be kept waiting."

November shrugged. "I've already seen him. -Oh, April, July!"

The two newcomers stepped into the room, April smiling gently, and July looking bored to death.

"Good morning, Misaki."

"Morning." July added tonelessly.

"What do you mean you've already seen him?" Misaki asked. "I didn't see you come in at all."

"Oh, that's because you were deep in thought." November said. "I watched you for a bit. You didn't twitch a muscle."

Misaki frowned indigently.

"It must be really boring now that BK-201 has dropped off the radar." April commented. "It's amazing you can even concentrate on civilian claims. I know I'd be dying."

"Only barely." Misaki admitted with a sigh. "I didn't even want to come today."

"Which is exactly why we want to take you out." April grinned.

"N-nani? What?" She must have heard wrong. Contractors asking, no, wanting to take her out? April blinked at Misaki's stunned expression and then shot a glare at November. "You didn't tell her?"

November shrugged. "Surprise! We're taking you to the Tokyo Music Festival!"

"Happy birthday." July murmured.

"Er-" She wasn't sure who to deal with first: April's excitement or November's complacence. "Why? My birthday comes around every year, you know. I haven't celebrated it since grade school." She shuffled some papers on her desk and stapled a bundle of finished reports on pedestrian life.

"All the more reason to get out and live." April urged. "Besides, we've already got tickets."

"Please come." said July, placing a hand on her arm. Misaki melted.

"Oh, al-lright." she stuttered. "But how much do I owe you?"

November shook his head. "Have you never heard of a gift before? Well, this is one of them."

"But they're 5,000 yen!" Misaki screeched, leaping out of her chair. April looked bemused.

"Relax, Misaki. That hardly puts a dent in MI-6's wallet."

"Th-this comes out of MI-6?"

November smiled. "More or less. It's from our paychecks, but what good is money if there's nothing to spend it on? Besides, I think we could all get back into the life of Tokyo. We've been away and you certainly look like you need a break." He eyed the papers apprehensively.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt." Misaki said slowly.

"Excellent! Then it's settled!" April clapped her hands. "Come on July, let's go back down to Astronomics. And November, I'll see you later, okay?"

"Of course, April."

He turned back towards the police chief and nodded. "I'll pick you up at your apartment at one on Saturday?"

Misaki actually cracked a smile. "Yes, and thank you, November."

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**A/N- Hey! So I'm actually not sure when Misaki was born, but for my sake, her birthday is now September 28th! Also, I know this is probably longer than what I normally write, but updates should be longer too.**

**I hoped you liked it, because I've got more that I just don't want to throw away. :) So PLEASE REVIEW!****  
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**Thanks! **

**Bleu Tsuki**


	2. Romania

**Chapter 2: Romania**

"Guss?"

"Yes, Shihoko?"

"What's that?"

"What's what?"

"That sound!"

Shihoko Kishida pulled on her husband's arm imploringly. Her dark brown hair fell across her shoulders, her short bangs brushing the tips of her shining brown eyes. Guss looked down at her in wonder, never knowing a more perfect being.

"What sound?" he asked gruffly, taking out his cigarette and tossing it in the trashcan. He pulled his dull red jacket around him tighter and searched the stretch of street before them. "Nothing-"

"Shhh!" Her ears were on high alert, her pulse beating in her ears. "There! You hear it?"

She leapt off the bench and walked briskly up the road towards the bridge. Guss stared after her, the sound of the river lapping at the concrete. When it was clear she wasn't going to return anytime soon, he raced after her, the wind riffling through his brown hair.

"Shi-ho-ko-!" he panted, hands on his knees as he stared at her, and then at the shady looking pub before them. "Wha-!"

"Quiet, Guss!"

He stilled instantly at the coldness in her voice and then fell silent, wondering at the mysterious sounds...

"Ge-ffme!"

SLAP! Thud!

Guss glanced from Shihoko to the door, feeling a sense of obligation to help and yet not wanting to involve his wife in any way. They had been dating right out of college, but an unfortunate car accident caused both of them severe head injuries and memory loss. At least, that's what the doctor had told them. Dr. Nishijima had been really nice about it too, even going insofar as to pay for the hospital bills and sending them a comprehensive guide to their typical day, such as where they shopped, and where they lived...He was not about to risk Shihoko getting hurt a second time, after all, it was he that had been driving the car, wasn't it?

Suddenly, the fates had ripped the choice from his hands as the door slid open to reveal a tall, burly man with a tan trench coat. Two others followed, each supporting the weight of an oddly shaped, moving bundle.

The leader was busy muttering instructions to his cronies to get the car and bring it around, before even noticing Guss and his wife. The bundle squirmed some more.

"Hey, be quiet, you!" said one man, shaking the bundle.

"Grefrer!"

"HEY." The leader had apparently spotted them, and if the angry red of his face was anything to go by, then he was not happy. "What are you doing here?"

Shihoko stood valiantly against the onslaught of fatal glares directed at them both, but only Guss could see the slight trembling of her knees.

"Hey. I asked you a QUESTION!" the man exploded, whipping out a gun from under his coat. Guss' first instinct was to step back, but then a second, stronger instinct was spurring him on, forward. And why was this? He didn't know.

"Hey! Leave her alone! I don't know what you're doing and I sure as hell don't want to be involved!" Guss roared.

"Ha. Haha." the leader chuckled, raising the gun to eye level. "You've already seen too much."

Guss's face morphed in horror as he stared down the barrel of the gun. Even from twenty feet away, the sight was no less intimidating. This was not happening! This could not be happening!

The leader smirked. "Ladies first?" As quick as lightning, the gun had blasted into the night. There was no time to think or act or do. Guss lunged for his wife, cheek scraping roughly against the ground, her name muffled in his throat. Not happening!

"Ha! Hahaha!" There was that chuckle again. Somewhere far above. Guss picked himself off the ground, just in time to hear, "Hey? Where'd she go?" before tackling the first man.

There were no words he could shout to make this man suffer, just feral, bestial growls erupting from his chest. They tumbled across the road, punches, kicks, and clawing making up the most of the fight. Guss had never fought in his life and yet his hands found themselves easily on the man's throat. His pulse humming beneath his thumbs. No time! No thought! No time! No-!

Splat! Something wet and warm hit his arm and he paused momentarily in his shock.

"AHHH! YOU! YO-!" one of the men behind him screeched.

Drops splattered across the ground, and still Guss did not know what it was. The liquid dripped down his arm, slowly, but his attention was already captured by the horrorstruck face of his victim. Why? What was happening? He glanced at his arm and nearly choked back the bile that had risen up in his throat. Blood. Human blood.

"Guss?" Shihoko's smooth voice floated over to him. "Guss?" It was like a dream. "Guss?"

A hand was on his shoulder, soft and trembling. The leader beneath him was shuddering too. But Guss was too furious to see reason. He socked the man's face in with all the power he could muster, and the leader's jaw snapped unhinged as his eyes faded and head lolled to the side. A thin trail of blood seeped from his hairline, and Guss finally let his fear get the best of him.

"Guss? Guss?"

He turned around, ashamed and unashamed, scared and fearless. What must she think of him?

"Shi-" Her name caught in his throat as he took in the sight before him. Two bodies, mutilated as if they had burst from the inside, lay in a crumbled heap on the road. Blood pooled around them, slowly, and a girl stood completely unfazed in the corner, bright red hair spiking from her head. His curiosity lay behind awe. "Shihoko?" Her cheek was smeared with blood, as was the palm of her right hand and her white skirt.

"Yes?" she asked detachedly, staring at her hand in contemplation.

"I-" What was there to say? One minute they were fine. Average, normal almost. The next, they were murderers. His face fell, and his eyes looked off to the headlights in the distance.

"We need to leave." It was the girl in the corner, holding the blanket across her shoulders. "Now." she added, her low voice commanding.

Shihoko locked eyes with her husband.

"She's right. We have to go far away."

.oOo.

Her bright green eyes shone cat-like in the darkness. Her hands were slender, as was the rest of her cadaverous body, slim and fragile, juxtaposing her fierce, dangerous face. Carmine sighed as she glanced at the unfamiliar couple staring at each other across uncomfortable silence.

"Who are you?" Carmine finally asked, her voice tired but distinct.

The gruff man regarded her curiously before looking to his wife who was sitting quietly by the window. Shihoko clasped her hands and stared determinedly out the window.

"Yesterday I would have told you Guss, but I just don't know anymore." Guss finally answered. "What were they going to do to you?"

Carmine shrugged. "What do they do to all of us? They dehumanize."

Something about the word 'us' made Guss decidedly worried. Us? Who was us? And the blood! Oh god, the blood...!

Where had it all come from?

"Dehumanize?" Shihoko asked, her caramel voice seeming to come from outside her motionless form.

Carmine raised her emerald eyes to glimpse her face. It was half hidden by the shadows, half illuminated by the starlight.

"Yes. Dehumanize." Carmine answered softly. "And you are his wife?"

Shihoko nodded imperceptibly. "Shihoko. We've been sweethearts since college." It sounded like an echo. "Since college..." Shihoko repeated.

Guss frowned then looked at the compartment door. The train was large, so there wasn't any reason for someone to come inside their room. Even so, sensitive matters were heard best by sensitive ears, and Guss did not want anyone listening.

"And your name?" Guss asked to the green eyed girl.

"Carmine." She had nothing to lose. Absolutely nothing at all. Besides, who knew her name but the higher ups of the South American project and the people in that? Who knew other than the dead? Hei, Pai, and Amber?

"Carmine," Guss nodded at the redhead.

"Yes."

"Who were they back there?"

"The men?"

"Yes."

"I only just met them." Carmine said.

"But why were they after you?" Guss pressed.

"Why is anyone after anyone?" Carmine countered indifferently. "They're in the past now. Guilt solves nothing."

Shihoko's head snapped up. "Guilt adds depth to your actions. Without it, we become machines."

"Depth of my actions?" Carmine laughed derisively. "If that were true, I'd be in the center of the earth. But I am surprised you're both still upset."

"Why?" Guss asked. "Because we-we killed! Of course it's upsetting! I've never killed before in my life!"

"But it came so naturally." Shihoko choked back a sob. "But I can't remember killing ever before. Tell me, can others do _it_? Do it _too?_"

Her eyes were red and her cheeks wet. "Well get used to it, because a life on the run might mean shooting someone who recognizes you. It might mean killing on an inkling of suspicion. But I watched you, and you're no amateurs."

Shihoko and Guss shared another uneasy look.

"And as for others," Carmine continued, "Yes, there are others."

"Others?" Guss queried.

"Yes. There are others with abilities, heartless machines that the government uses to achieve their own ends. They're called contractors." Carmine told them bitterly.

"Why haven't I heard of them before?" Shihoko whispered, voice cracking.

Carmine lifted her emerald eyes. "Because you have."

"WHAT?" Guss cried. "That's absolutely ludicrous!"

Carmine shook her head. "Then how do you explain two fatalities with ruptured internal organs?" Carmine parried, then lowered her voice, "We don't talk about them because the governments want to keep them covered. We use ME technology to erase their memories, and kill the loose ends."

"The loose ends..." Guss repeated. "Well I don't know about you, Shihoko, but I don't see how you could _NOT_ know you could do that."

"So this...ME technology." Shihoko started. "Can it erase, say, your entire life?"

Carmine gazed on sadly. She had her suspicions, but now it was true, right in her face. How did her life become so complicated?

"Yes, your entire life." Carmine said.

"What are you saying, Carmine? That someone just, that someone just took our memories?" Guss floundered.

"Considering the facts, yes." Carmine nodded. "Though why they would think to do so with a contractor...contractors are different from humans. They have no emotion. They can't blend in, and their price! What if your star activated, like it did today? How would they control how you pay your contract? Surely you can't break your fingers in public?"

"Contract payment?" Guss asked, whipped around to look at Shihoko. She was wiping tears from her eyes and was looking a little queasy.

"The emotions...they're overwhelming." Shihoko told them in a hushed voice. "I can feel the weight of the world on my shoulders, so many, so much guilt. I don't even know what I did to deserve it, but I know it had to be something."

"They'll be over in a minute." Carmine informed her. "You're not a martyr, you don't deserve punishment for what you don't remember." Though on this account, Carmine was a hypocrite.

"So you're one of them too?" Guss asked rhetorically. He was unsure how he felt, seeing as he loved his wife but the entire idea of there being anything in existence like contractors made him sick. Killing machines? No, his wife couldn't have...wasn't responsible for their deaths. After all, hadn't Guss killed one man with his bare hands? And where had he learned? And when had he learned? How long ago had it been since this ME had been used?

"So where are we headed anyway?" Guss asked, breaking the silence and looking out the blackened window.

"Japan." said Carmine monotonously.

"Ja-" Suddenly many things clicked at once. "Hell's Gate." Shihoko breathed. "The contractors came from Hell's Gate."

"No-no-no-no-no! Shihoko's _not_ a monster! We just can't _return_ her!" Guss protested.

"Return?" Carmine asked lightly, "If there was a way to return we would've found it by now. No...I'm going to retrieve something I've lost a long time ago."

The train ran on in silence; they left the light off and the curtains drawn on the door.

"So we make a new life, is that it?" Shihoko asked. "Start over?" Her voice was back to her pleasant monotone, though it seemed sadder than before. Staring over once again. After the accident their whole world seemed built from scratch...how many times had they started over? When had she really met Guss? And why? Why, why, why? "We're wanted criminals now, so what could you want with us?"

Carmine smiled grimly. In truth, there was no reason for her to leave. She could've set up camp elsewhere, but this seemed fated. Just a little too perfect. She needed her memories just as much as Guss and Shihoko, and this was just the push she needed. "I think we're all wanted and...a new life wouldn't be amiss." The train rolled to a stop; they stood up. "Actually, I'm looking forward to it."

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**A/N- If you didn't already guess, I absolutely ADORE memory manipulation. I'm also fond of many confused characters :)**

**PLEASE REVIEW! I promise more Hei and Misaki action will take place soon!**

**Thanks,**

**Bleu Tsuki**


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